Business Ethics Chapter 5 Structures For Reporting Unethical Behaviors Should Also

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Case Study 5:

Written by Mark Barnard

Case Summary

In the mid-

ow in building its competitive advantage and

Case Analysis

Details included in the case provide an opportunity for students to identify external and internal

Code of Conduct and instead pursue unethical and illegal actions related to the creation and

Critical Thinking Questions and Suggested Answers

1. As explained in the case, VW faced many external and internal pressures that could

code of conduct help

safeguard against illegal and unethical actions being taken by employees, supervisors,

and/or executives when facing such pressures?

The instructor can start with asking students to identify the external and internal pressures

facing

car manufacturer.

Internal pressures included:

2. Why would a company continue to pursue illegal and/or unethical actions even after the

deception has been uncovered? What policies, practices or structures could a company

include in its code of conduct to ensure that such deception was revealed sooner?

Students can explore the actions taken by VW to coverup its unethical and illegal actions

not meet U.S. emission standards. Rather than admitting to ethical and legal failures, we see

To encourage exposing wrongdoings as early as possible, policies regarding expected

Code of Conduct and clearly

explained. Examples of common ethical dilemmas and situations faced by employees should

be included along with examples of acceptable and unacceptable responses to the dilemmas.

licies and examples of appropriate

and ac

would you make regarding the content of the code?

The Code of Conduct should include the following information:

Why the company has a Code of Conduct

Detailed processes and steps for reporting wrongdoing

Policies and practices regarding more general areas of employee behavior (harassment,

discrimination, internet usage, social media)

and unethical decisions and actions from being taken at all levels of the corporation.

Beyond revising and strengthening its code of conduct, what other actions can a

company take to protect against such failures in the future?

The instructor can lead a discussion about focusing on ethics as a system rather than

concentrating on only individual practices or policies. Individual, or a few best ethical

unethical actions being taken and wrongdoings being overlooked or covered up. Similarly,

5. In 2006, VW sold more than 2.5 times as many cars in China as in the U.S. By 2009, the

emissions standards at the time were far less strict than those in the U.S. Why was VW

so fixated on growing sales in the U.S. when sales were growing much more rapidly in

As noted in the case, VW executives identified the U.S. as a key market for achieving its goal

rgest automobile manufacturer by 2018. While details are lacking